44.6 oz pewter tankard

[Old Ears]

So, my wife and I are at a nearby antique mall and I spot this. Look's like aluminum, but as I pick it up my mind goes "sure is heavy". No hallmark, but I can scratch it with my fingernail. 44.6 oz. (almost 3 pounds) of pewter for $6.00. You can see the dimple I made with the torch just to make sure when I got home. Happy dance!

295780

[imashooter2]

Look carefully around the inside bottom rim. The markings are often stamped there. You have soft pewter or hard fingernails!

[Old Ears]

Look carefully around the inside bottom rim. The markings are often stamped there. You have soft pewter or hard fingernails!

This is the only stamp on the bottom.

295786

"Made in Hong Kong"

The scratch is from my fingernail.

[imashooter2]

It’s not a deep scratch. I’m thinking you did well.

[jsizemore]

I found a set of those Hong Kong made mugs that were a bunch smaller but the 8 mugs came to 4 lbs. Butter soft and came to 98% tin content.

[kevin c]

I had a really big container marked “Made in Hong Kong” that turned out to be mostly lead. Soft, heavy, and easy to scratch, but dark in color, not bright like your tankard. BNE analyzed it for me: turned out it only had enough tin to make it good boolit alloy used straight. Since then, I’ve been a bit cautious buying metalware from Hong Kong for its tin, but maybe I should take a chance if the color is brighter.

[Sasquatch-1]

I don't want to be the Scrooge or Grinch here, but does it have a weighted bottom? Some pewter is filled with a cheap substance to give them weight and stability.

[imashooter2]

That construction doesn’t look like it has a base to fill with the weight compound. Also weighted objects are typically stamped as weighted. That said… Hong Kong. I still like his odds of having the real deal though.

[jsizemore]

The ones I found had a metal bottom instead of glass. Really bright finish. BNE tested mine.

Your right. I passed on a bunch of Hong Kong stuff cuz' it didn't look right. This stuff looked and tested like the real deal. About the same as Selangor (?) pewter.

[farmbif]

reading the header I was thinking a tankard that will hold 44oz of beer, just about enough to getcha goin

[Old Ears]

That construction doesn’t look like it has a base to fill with the weight compound. Also weighted objects are typically stamped as weighted. That said… Hong Kong. I still like his odds of having the real deal though.

There was a goblet elsewhere in the mall that obviously had a weighted base. I've gotten pretty good at spotting them. Sometimes you can get the base to flex when you push on it. I passed on the goblet for $8.00. I try to keep my pewter price under $6.00 per pound. Done pretty well over the last couple years. I've got a fair stash, for me, since most of my lead is from WWs half and half clip-on and stick-on, I don't need a huge amount of additional tin.

It is definitely an addiction.

[imashooter2]

The ones I found had a metal bottom instead of glass. Really bright finish. BNE tested mine.

Your right. I passed on a bunch of Hong Kong stuff cuz' it didn't look right. This stuff looked and tested like the real deal. About the same as Selangor (?) pewter.

Selangor 97%! My current stash is all Selangor. Probably enough to take me to the grave with a bit of buffer. :drinks:

[brassrat]

Hong Kong is Chiiiiina

[oley55]

Often over looked are the silver plated serving platters. The soldered on feet/legs and raised decorations around the edges are pewter/tin and are heavier than you would expect.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?127929-Pewter-pictures-and-hallmarks&p=5371886&viewfull=1#post5371886

[WRideout]

As a certified skinflint, I haunt the thrift stores for pewter. Most of what I find is in the form of bud vases or small dishes. I try to keep costs below about $2.00 per item. If the senior discount is available the next day, I will often wait to buy. Right now I have about a coffee can full of smelted pewter. For ease of handling, I pour the melted pewter into a boolit mold, so I can keep my amount of tin consistent per pot.

Wayne

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Often over looked are the silver plated serving platters. The soldered on feet/legs and raised decorations around the edges are pewter/tin and are heavier than you would expect.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?127929-Pewter-pictures-and-hallmarks&p=5371886&viewfull=1#post5371886

Yep, often stamped quadruple plate. I bend it over my knee to check it. Sometimes it seems to have a little copper in it. I chop it up with a hatchet on a stump to melt it.